1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the posture or attitude of a passenger, particularly the posture or attitude of a passenger in the compartment of a vehicle equipped with an air bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various passenger cars equipped with an air bag as means for controlling the attitude of a passenger have been proposed in the art. For example, an apparatus for controlling the attitude of a passenger disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (KOKAI) No. 62-39740 is proposed to have an arrangement in which the passenger is protected by an air bag at the time of a collision. However, this arrangement does not have means for displacing the passenger downwardly when the collision occurs. Accordingly, though the hips of the passenger's torso are fixedly set on the seat of the vehicle in the foregoing proposal, if the passenger fails to fasten his or her seat belt, the passenger's head will not move downwardly toward the seat in the event of a collision of the type in which the front end of the vehicle body is caved in. Instead, there is the danger that the passenger's head will approach the front header above the air bag when a collision occurs..
Owing to design trends in recent years, which have resulted in vehicle bodies having a lower profile (i.e., less height), there is a much greater tendency for the head of a passenger to approach the front header above the air bag. This is an important problem in terms of safety, since a situation can arise in which the passenger's head will strike the front header or front windshield. In particular, since a steering wheel is not located in front of a passenger seated alongside the driver, the head of this passenger may strike the front header, windshield or the like directly.